Being a photographer, I feel extremely blessed to have a job that I absolutely love and that allows me the privilege to express myself creatively. However, unlike most jobs, there is no security of where your next pay check will come from. A few years ago when I had a corporate job, it was easy for me to obey God’s request for us to tithe and give 10% of our earnings back to a church or an area you might see with a need. However, when I started my own business, I slowly began to stop giving as time went on because there was always some new piece of equipment to upgrade to, or some new marketing investment, or heck, just bills to live. So one of my resolutions for 2007 that I felt the Lord tugging on my heart about was to start tithing again and putting God back FIRST in my finances.
This time of year is especially hard to start that promise with holiday debts to be paid, but I made a vow that no matter what bills need to be paid, I will keep my word to give away a little of each paycheck I receive. I’m sharing it on here so my friends can keep me accountable.
Then tonight, I received a test of my commitment.
On the way to my yoga class, I stopped by to pick up my dry cleaning. As I was walking to my car, this man in a camouflage outfit was walking near by and struck up a small talk conversation with me. As I was starting to get in my car, running late to yoga now, he said “Ma’am, I’m embarrassed to ask you this, but I’m a retired Marine Corp and now I’m living on the streets, and I’m starving. Would you happen to have any money so I can afford to eat tonight?” I knew in that moment, God was testing my heart with my new promise if I would give as Jesus would, or keep the money to myself. I didn’t know if his story was true or if he would spend it on something other than food, but I also knew it wasn’t my place to judge. I normally don’t carry cash on me, but in that moment I remembered my mom had given me some a few days earlier to pay me back for something. So, without hesitation I reached in my wallet and gave him some money. God says in His word "Ask and you shall receive," and God knows there have been too many times to count that I have asked and thankfully received. So how could I turn this man down who humbled himself enough to ask?
But it was his response that humbled me. He said, “Thank you so much and God bless you. Do you have a business card I can mail you the money back one day?” I was so amazed that here, someone with nothing wanted to make his own vow to pay me back. But I simply told him “God bless you too, and please consider it a gift.”
As I drove away, I tried to look into my rearview mirror to see where he walked off to, but funny, I couldn’t find him. It was one of those moments that made me wonder like that Joan Osbourne song asks, “What if God was one of us?”
Also as I drove away, I prayed over the money I gave him telling God how that was a big sacrifice for me to give with certain bills that needed to be paid, and every penny counts right now, but that I’m trying my best to still be obedient and give when I see an opportunity for it, and to please bear fruit from the seeds I’m planting.
So I go to yoga and an hour later come home to check my email. What do I find but a bunch of new inquiries from brides that said they loved my work and are ready to book me. Also too, in looking at the time of the emails, they were sent back to back RIGHT after I had placed the money in the homeless guy’s hand.
I just started crying at how faithful God is. As humans, it’s so easy for us to want to doubt and do things our own way. And as Christians, the hardest sacrifice can be letting go of the money God has given us. But what I hope you will gain from this story is that, if we just trust and obey Him, God WILL provide everytime.
To go along with this story, I’m reposting a contest video I made last year that I hope encourages you to give “a little more”.
